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Financial Times: Shares in Cobham fell more than 20% on Wednesday morning after the UK aerospace and defence company scrapped its dividend and issued its fourth profit warning in just over a year.

The Daily Telegraph: US prosecutors will lay criminal charges against six Volkswagen executives over their role in the “dieselgate” emissions scandal, in addition to a multi-billion-dollar settlement against the company.

The Independent: The pound has tumbled to a new 31-year low against the dollar with the US currency boosted ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's press conference; sterling dropped as low as $1.2039 before rebounding slightly to just above $1.21 by the time the London market closed.

The Independent: The economy grew by 0.5% in the final quarter of 2016, according to the latest forecast from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.

The Times: The Bank of England has serious concerns about ballooning levels of consumer credit among British households as it hinted at action to restrain the bubble if it continued.

The Daily Telegraph: FTSE 100, Britain’s leading index, set a new record high and sealed an historic winning streak, after it rose for a twelfth consecutive trading sessions.

Business and economics

The Times: Blockbusters including Star Wars: Rogue One and Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them sparked record admissions at Cineworld last year; the cinema chain reported a jump in annual revenues of 12.6% as its venues passed the 100 million admissions mark for the first time.

Financial Times: Recruiter PageGroup reported record gross profit for the fourth quarter, but its UK business creaked under “continued uncertain market conditions.”

The Independent: The European Union is at greater risk than the UK if the two parties are unable to agree a financial transition phase for the City of London after Brexit in 2019, the Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, has warned.

Financial Times: Shares in Interserve rose over 8% in early trading after the UK support services and construction company said its full year results would be in line with expectations while its debt position would be better than previously guided.

Financial Times: Silicon Valley start-ups raised over a quarter less venture capital funding in 2016 than the year before, falling further than the global average and underperforming the other US technology hubs.

The Independent: The World Bank has trimmed its growth forecast for the UK, in its first major review of the state of the economy since the country’s June vote to quit the EU.

Financial Times: Facebook has unveiled The Facebook Journalism Project, an effort to become a better home for journalism as it faces criticism about its role in spreading fake news.

Financial Times: Hon Hai, the owner of Apple supplier Foxconn, has chalked up its first fall in revenues in more than two decades on the back of the drop in iPhone sales last year.

The Times: In what could come to be seen as the biggest raspberry yet directed towards the Department for Transport and its stewardship of the railways, National Express signalled its intention yesterday to abandon the network.

The Daily Telegraph: Airbus chiefs have reaffirmed their commitment to the slow-selling A380 “superjumbo” as they announced record annual deliveries of its family of aircraft.

The Daily Express: Taylor Wimpey’s move into better quality locations paid off as it shrugged off Brexit concerns to build healthy profits.

The Independent: The UK's trade deficit ballooned in November as imports surged and swamped the rise in exports.

The Daily Telegraph: The City has ratcheted up the pressure on the Government by issuing a series of demands that banks and other financial firms want from a Brexit deal with Brussels, including a transition period to stop markets from falling into a tailspin.

Daily Mail: An activist investor has transferred hundreds of shares in water firm Dee Valley to local people and employees in a bid to stage a coup over a potential takeover.

The Independent: UK employers would have to pay a £1,000-a-year fee per EU skilled worker after Brexit under new government plans.

The Daily Telegraph: The Green Investment Bank sell-off should be paused to ensure its environmental credentials are not damaged by the privatisation, MPs have urged.

The Times: Strong sales of party dresses, women’s coats and accessories helped Ted Baker to lift sales by 17.9% in the eight weeks to 7 January.

The Daily Express: Sainsbury’s enjoyed a festive boost from its £1.4 billion takeover of Argos as having electricals concessions in dozens of its supermarkets helped it to sell more groceries.

Daily Mail: UK petrol prices have climbed to their highest for over two years with prices at some pumps hitting the £1.35 a litre, Government figures show.

The Daily Telegraph: Pharmaceuticals giant Shire is to pay $350 million ($287m) to settle a lawsuit with the US Department of Justic in which it was claimed that the rare disease specialist used illegal kickbacks, such as lavish dinners and cash, to encourage doctors and clinics to buy its products.

The Times: Tullow Oil was accused yesterday of flouting accepted boardroom best practice after promoting its chief executive and founder to the role of non-executive chairman.

The Independent: Ferrero, the maker of Nutella, has hit back at claims that palm oil used in their hazelnut and chocolate spreads could cause cancer.

The Times: Atlantis Resources is launching a division to develop large-scale renewable power projects outside its specialist area of tidal energy.

The Daily Express: Shares in Foxtons plummeted by 9%, after the London estate agent today revealed a heavy hit to profits amid a downturn in the capital's housing market.

The Daily Telegraph: The department store chain House of Fraser has posted a 2.7% lift in sales for the six weeks from 21 November to New Year's Eve compared to the previous year.